A Big Contributor

LETTERS FROM READERS

October 2, 1996

RUTH RITCHEY'S Sept. 23 letter made important points about our nation's dependence on foreign oil but failed to point out the vital economic and environmental benefits nuclear power offers in meeting America's energy needs.

Nuclear power is our second-cheapest and second-largest form of energy, safely supplying 20 percent of our nation's electricity - enough for 65 million homes in America. Most of these plants began operation during and after the 1970s oil shocks when we needed relief from foreign oil. Today, we have reduced the use of oil for electricity generation from 17 percent to 3 percent.

Anyone concerned about the impact of global warming must realize nuclear power's ability to generate clean electricity without emitting greenhouse gases. Nuclear energy is responsible for nearly 90 percent of the carbon dioxide cut from electricity production since 1973. To put this into perspective, our use of 110 nuclear power plants keeps as much carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere as taking 94 million cars off the road.

Using energy more efficiently is important - and signing global climate agreements and researching alternative power sources are necessary - but that doesn't take the place of a large-scale power source with proven environmental benefits.

When America again needs to build new electric plants, the nuclear industry will be ready with newly designed, standardized plants that will continue the technology's contributions to environmentally clean, safe energy.